A veteran artist, Chika Idu, on Tuesday advised the three tiers of government to engage the youths in creativity to advance national development.
Idu said that national development could be driven faster by creativity as well as act as a great employer of labour.
“When government engages youths in creativity, they will be busy and that will enhance their productivity.
“They will not be idle and will not end up in perpetuating various vices’’.
Idu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that creativity is a way of living that promotes originality among different ideas.
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“Creative people find ways around obstacles because they do not see them as roadblocks but as opportunities to impact positively on the larger society.
“If we want the youth to become good leaders, they must be creative so that they can inspire others to develop original and creative ideas for the growth of the society,’’ he said.
He said that by developing people, especially the young ones, the government would be facilitating creativity among them and also be building a team that works with enthusiasm and drive.
“If youths have the abilities to think analytically and creatively, they will be able to produce better results in small and medium scale business ventures.
“Being creative gives us opportunities to try out new ideas, new ways of thinking on how to solve problems,’’ he said.
He said that youths could come together to think creatively through brainstorming.
He said that it would lead to a better teamwork and team bonding; improved interaction, encourage problem-solving, productivity, communication skills and open-mindedness.
Idu, however, said that the youth did not have to be geniuses to get things done in their own capacities; they just have to open up their thinking process, not product.
He also advised that those who studied arts could be employed by the government or establishes places where they could be employed.
Udi said that they could be employed as: “Art gallery manager, exhibition designer, fine artist, graphic designer, higher education lecturer, printmaker, and secondary school art teacher.
Others include being engaged as: art administrator, estate manager, interior designer, museum/gallery curator/exhibition officer and multimedia programmer.
He said that artists would continue to talk about art and do art, noting that “art is civilization if art dies; civilization will die.’’
He noted that Nigerians are among the most creative people in the world.
“We have not begun scratching the surface of our creative potential yet in arts,’’ he said.
NAN reports that Idu studied painting at the Auchi Polytechnic, Edo.
He had participated in numerous group exhibitions with five solo exhibitions to his credit.
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